Amazon Music offers a free tier and two premium subscription options: Prime and Unlimited. Free users only have ad-supported access to top playlists and stations. Amazon Music Prime is included with the Prime membership and can be a solid option for music streaming. Amazon Music Unlimited offers a significant upgrade, especially for audiophiles and those who want more control over their music. In this post, let’s dig into the key differences between these premium subscriptions to help you decide which one best suits your needs.
Amazon Music Prime comes as a free bundle with Amazon Prime membership. It offers an ad-free experience with access to 100 million songs and thousands of playlists, stations, and podcasts. However, the on-demand playback, unlimited skips, and offline listening feature are restricted to All-Access Playlists (select curated playlists based on user listening habits). For all other playlists and stations, songs are primarily available in shuffle mode. This plan offers a good value if you’re also interested in the other benefits such as free shipping and Prime Video included within the Amazon Prime membership.
Amazon Music Unlimited provides a more extensive listening experience for a monthly subscription fee. You can enjoy music in higher quality with HD and Ultra HD; play any song, playlist, or album on demand; and have greater flexibility to download music for offline playback.
Amazon Music Unlimited provides various plans to fit different needs. In addition to the Individual plan, there is a Family option for multiple-device listening and a Student plan with a discounted rate. The Single Device plan allows you to use Amazon Music on just a single Echo or Fire TV device.
Amazon Music Prime
Amazon Music Prime is included with your Prime membership at no additional cost, making it a great value. Here are the prices for Amazon Prime memberships and keep in mind that new subscribers can get a 30-day free trial:
Amazon Music Unlimited Plans
You don’t need Amazon Prime to subscribe to the Unlimited plan, but Prime members enjoy discounted prices. New subscribers can try the plans free for 30 days, after which the cost will vary for the four plans as listed below:
One notable distinction between Amazon Music Prime and Unlimited lies in the level of playback control. With Amazon Music Unlimited, you have the freedom to play any song on demand in the Amazon Music libray.
Prime Music offers curated All-Access Playlists with unlimited skips and on-demand playback, but for anything outside those playlists, music is played in shuffle mode with limited skips, typically 6 skips per hour.
With Amazon Music Unlimited (except for the Single Device Plan), users can download songs, albums, and playlists for offline listening, offering the convenience of enjoying music without an internet connection. Users can choose to download in Standard, HD, Ultra HD, or Spatial Audio formats.
Prime Music, however, lacks this flexibility, as downloads are limited to All-Access Playlists in Standard quality.
One key difference between Amazon Music Prime and Unlimited is the audio quality. While Prime Music users can access the full music library, the songs are played in standard audio quality. Upgrading to Amazon Music Unlimited unlocks higher-fidelity options including HD, Ultra HD, and Spatial Audio.
The table below provides a clear comparison of key features between Amazon Music Prime and Unlimited plan. This will help you decide which option best suits your listening needs.
| Feature | Amazon Music Prime | Amazon Music Unlimited |
| Price per month | Included in the Amazon Prime: $14.99/month or $139/year Student Prime: $7.49/month or $69/year | Individual: $11.99 ($10.99 with Prime) Family: $19.99 Student: $5.99 Single Device: $5.99 |
| Free trial | 30 days | 30 days |
| Ad-free | Yes | Yes |
| On-demand playback | Only available for All-Access Playlists Shuffle plays any artist, album, or playlist | Yes |
| Unlimited skips | Only available for All-Access Playlists | Yes |
| Download for offline playback | Only available for All-Access Playlists | Yes |
| HD/Ultra HD/ Spatial Audio | No | Yes |
| Station | Thousands of Stations | Personalized Stations |
| Podcast | The most ad-free top podcasts | The most ad-free top podcasts |
| Streaming Limits | 1 device at a time | 1 device at a time (Family Plan allows 6 devices at a time) |
| Alexa Interaction | Yes | Yes |
| Live Feature | Yes | Yes |
Amazon Music Prime is a good option for casual listeners who are already Prime members or want to enjoy other benefits of Amazon Prime. It provides ad-free listening experiences in the vast library. However, there are some limitations to consider, such as shuffle play, limited skips, and restricted offline listening capabilities.
If you’re a music lover seeking more control and higher-quality audio, Amazon Music Unlimited offers significant advantages, including unlimited skipping and a better download feature.
The best choice for you depends on your listening habits and priorities. If you don’t mind limited skipping and standard audio quality, Amazon Music Prime might be sufficient. However, if you want more control over your music, high-fidelity audio, and the ability to listen offline, Amazon Music Unlimited offers a more premium experience.
While you can download songs for offline listening with Amazon Music Unlimited and All-Access Playlists with Prime Music, these downloaded files are only accessible within the Amazon Music app. You cannot export them for use on other apps or devices. However, with Pazu Amazon Music Converter, you can download any songs, albums, and playlists from Amazon Music to MP3, M4A, AAC, FLAC, WAV, and AIFF, even with Amazon Music Free. These downloads can be transferred and played on any compatible device. Moreover, the audio quality and original ID3 tags of the downloaded MP3 files are preserved.
Now follow the tutorial below to convert Amazon Music to MP3 with a few steps.
Download, install, and launch Pazu Amazon Music Converter on your computer, then click the Sign In to log in to your Amazon account.
If you have purchased a license, click the key icon to register the converter. If not, continue using the trial version.
Click on the Settings icon in the top right corner and select MP3 as the output format.
Select the desired songs, albums, or playlists you wish to download. Click the red Add button on the right to add songs to the download list.
All songs in the playlist will be added by default. Uncheck the box of any track you don’t want to download.
Click the Convert button at the lower right. Pazu Amazon Music Converter will automatically download and save the tracks to the default folder on your computer.
After downloading, you can browse all the converted songs in the history tab by clicking the Clock 
icon.
Now you’re ready to enjoy your Amazon Music songs anywhere on any compatible device.
Download Amazon Music to MP3, FLAC, etc.